1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an amphibious vehicle and more particularly to an amphibious vehicle including a snowmobile for traveling over solid terrain, such as ice floating atop a body of water, and a boat hull for floatably supporting the snowmobile in the body of water.
2. Description of Prior Art and Objects
A snowmobile is a vehicle, particularly useful in negotiating snow and ice, which includes an endless track that normally propels the vehicle forwardly over solid terrain and a pair of steerable skis which bear against the terrain to direct the vehicle""s path of travel. Ice fishermen have found snowmobiles particularly useful in traveling over ice to a favorite ice fishing location. In the early and late portions of the winter, portions of the ice will frequently be relatively thin due to various freezing factors such as increasing temperature, wind shifts and water currents. Each year many people drown as a result of the snowmobile breaking through the thin ice.
It has also been known that ice fishermen become disoriented in foggy conditions and will mistakenly drive their snowmobile in a direction away from land directly into open water. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and novel vehicle which will increase safety of snowmobile operators traveling over ice.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,378 issued to Larry L. Kufhal on Oct. 31, 2000, discloses a pontoon boat which has an outboard motor detachably slidably mounted on the rear end thereof for propelling the boat through water. The outboard motor can be slidably removed and the boat converted to a land vehicle by replacing the outboard motor with an endless track construction. This prior art construction includes a catamaran type hull which is not solid and is not sealed to the snowmobile and does not in fact include a snowmobile. Rather, the alternate installation and removal of the track is cumbersome and time consuming. It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and novel amphibious vehicle which can, without modification, travel over solid surfaces, such as ice, as well as through a body of water.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and novel amphibious vehicle for use by rescue personnel in traveling over ice and immediately, without modification, into a body of water to rescue someone who has broken through the ice.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,070,546 issued to Hugh Downey, et al, on Jun. 6, 2000, discloses a snowmobile equipped with one or more flotation devices to floatably support the snowmobile in the event the snowmobile breaks through ice on the frozen surface of a body of water. This patent does not disclose the concept of a boat hull sealed to the snowmobile frame. Accordingly, it is a still further object of the present invention to provide an amphibious vehicle of the type described including a boat hull sealed to a snowmobile in water impervious relation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,662 issued to James A. Boyd, et al, on Sep. 29, 1992, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,156 issued to Glen Redke, et al on May 16, 2000, each discloses a snowmobile powered water craft utilizing pontoons that are mounted on the skis and the back of the snowmobile but such pontoons are not sealed to the frame of the snowmobile. Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide a new and novel amphibious vehicle having a floatation device for a snowmobile which is mounted such that the skis and track of the snowmobile support the hull in spaced relation with ice being traversed but which will floatably support the snowmobile in a body of water.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an amphibious vehicle including a combination of an upwardly opening boat hull having an aperture there-through for receiving a snowmobile.
The following U.S. patents also disclose a water craft including a snowmobile having the skis and the endless track mechanism removed therefrom and mounting the remaining snowmobile structure on a pontoon construction:
The vehicles disclosed in these six latter mentioned patents all require complex and time consuming conversion and have no amphibious capability allowing the vehicle to alternately travel between ice and water. Accordingly, it is still yet another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved amphibious vehicle including a snowmobile which can travel over solid terrain and propel a boat hull through a body of water.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and novel amphibious vehicle of the type described wherein steering mechanism is provided which includes an outer terminal end disposed outwardly of the hull and inner end portion disposed inwardly of the hull.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and novel amphibious vehicle of the type described which includes an endless track having water propelling lugs thereon.
It has been found according to the present invention that the skis will steer the vehicle not only on ice and solid terrain but will also steer the vehicle in a body of water. Toward this end, the present invention includes rudder plates mounted on the tops of the skis. Accordingly, it is yet another object of the present invention to provide new and improved skis for supporting the vehicle on solid terrain and also for steering the vehicle through a body of water.
When the amphibious vehicle inadvertently breaks through the ice and floats on water, it is important for the skis to negotiate over the edge of the ice floating atop the water as the vehicle emerges from the water and transfers onto the ice. Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide new and novel guide mechanism for guiding the front of the vehicle upwardly to lift the front of the skis to a level above the edge of the ice as the vehicle is in transition from the body of water onto the ice.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an amphibious vehicle of the type described including guide mechanism which is inclined forwardly to lift the front of the vehicle as the amphibious vehicle negotiates the edge of the ice floating on the surface of the body of water being traversed.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an amphibious vehicle of the type described which includes new and novel roller guide mechanism mounted on the guides for bearing against the ice edge as the vehicle transitions from the water onto the ice.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and novel amphibious vehicle of the type described which includes a new and novel hull having an upwardly extending downwardly opening pocket for receiving the front upturned ends of the skis.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and novel amphibious vehicle of the type described including a floatation hull which includes a pair of laterally spaced apart, upwardly extending downwardly opening pockets for receiving the steering rudders mounted atop the skis.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a new and novel amphibious vehicle which includes an endless track serving as a propulsion unit either on land or in the water.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an amphibious vehicle including a new and novel hull having elongate upwardly extending downwardly opening pockets for receiving stabilizing arms provided with the snowmobile steering mechanism.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more readily apparent as the description hereof proceeds forward.
An amphibious vehicle including an upwardly opening boat hull provided with an aperture there-through; and a snowmobile, received in the aperture and mounted and sealed to the boat hull in such a manner as to prevent the passage of water between the snowmobile and the boat hull, including an endless drive track for forwardly propelling the vehicle through water and on solid terrain.